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Regulations

ROYAL DECREE 208/2005, from 25th of February, on electrical and electronic equipment and their waste management.

Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 27th of January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic, in its Article 9 amended by Directive 2003/108/EC of the European Parliament Council of 8th of December 2003, aims to reduce the amount of waste and hazardous nature of its components, encouraging the reutilization of equipment and recovery of their waste and to determine appropriate management in order to improve the effectiveness of environmental protection. In order to achieve these objectives this directive establishes a set of rules applicable to the manufacture of the product and others related to the proper environmental management when residue is being produced.

It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all agents involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, eg manufacturers, distributors, users, and in particular, those operators directly involved in the management of waste of electrical and electronic equipment. This royal decree, which enacts the above directives, is issued under the provisions of Articles 1 and 7 of Law 10/1998 of April 21, regarding waste, which empowers the government to establish provisions for the production and management of certain types of waste so as to facilitate reuse and recycling.

From all of the above, this royal decree establishes preventive measures from the design and manufacture of electronic and electrical appliances designed mainly to limit the inclusion of hazardous substances in them.

It incorporates then, the provisions of Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 27th of January 2003 on the restriction of certain hazardous substances in electrical or electronic equipment, and it allows, in accordance with Community legislation, a period of adjustment under which such restrictions are definitely due to equipment put on the market from July 1st, 2006.

Furthermore, it determines how to manage the electrical and electronic equipment in order to minimize the environmental influence of this type of residue with special consideration for those coming from particular homes, due to its majority in the percentage of the total amount of residue for this kind of equipment.